Grapes
For grapes to be most productive, they must be trained to a
definite system and pruned rather severely. There are several
training systems used. The two most common are the vertical
trellis and the overhead arbor. Both of these are satisfactory in
the home planting if kept well-pruned.

Of the many variations of the vertical trellis, the
single-trunk, four-arm, Kniffin system is the most popular. Posts
are set 15 to 20 feet apart and extend 5 feet above the ground.
Two wires are stretched between the posts, the lower being about 2
1/2 feet above the ground and the upper, at the top of the posts.
The vine is set between the posts and trained to a single trunk
with four semipermanent arms, each cut back to 6 to 10 inches in
length. One arm is trained in each direction on the lower wire.

During annual winter pruning, one cane is saved from
those that grew from near the base of each arm the previous
summer. This cane is cut back to about ten buds. The fruit in the
coming season is borne on shoots developing from those buds.
Select another cane from each arm, preferably one that grew near
the trunk, and cut it back to a short stub having two buds.

This is a renewal spur. It should grow vigorously in
the spring and be the new fruiting cane selected the following
winter. All other growth on the vine should be removed. This
leaves four fruiting canes, one on each arm, with eight to ten
buds each, and four renewal spurs, one on each arm, cut back to
two buds each.

The same training and pruning techniques may be
effectively used in training grapes to the arbor system. The only
difference is that the wires supporting the arms are placed
overhead and parallel with each other instead of in a horizontal
position. Overhead wires are usually placed 6 to 7 feet above the
ground.

If an arm dies, or for any reason needs to be replaced,
choose the largest cane that has grown from the trunk near the
base of the dead arm and train it to the trellis wire. To renew
the trunk, train a strong shoot from the base of the old trunk to
the trellis as though it were the cane of a new vine. Establish
the arms in the same manner as for a new vine, and cut off the old
trunk.

Pruning may be done anytime after the vines become
dormant. In areas where there is danger of winter injury, pruning
may be delayed until early spring. Vines pruned very late may
bleed excessively, but there is no evidence that this is
permanently injurious.

Brambles
Trailing blackberries and floricane fruiting red raspberry need
some form of support. They may be grown on a trellis, trained
along a fence, or tied to stakes. Primocane fruiting red
raspberries should be supported with a simple trellis that can be
easily removed prior to pruning.

A simple trellis, used in many home gardens for
trailing blackberries and floricane fruiting red raspberries,
consists of two wires stretched at 3 and 5 foot levels between
posts set 15 to 20 feet apart. Fruiting canes are tied to these
wires in the spring. Canes of trailing varieties are tied
horizontally along the wires or fanned out from the ground and
tied where they cross the wire. The trellis for primocane fruiting
red raspberries consists of 4' long stake driven into the ground,
20' to 25' apart, with one string tied to either side. The canes
are brought up in-between the strings. The string needs only to be
tight enough to support the canes during the fruiting period.

Where stakes are used for support, they are driven into
the ground about 1 foot from each plant and allowed to extend 4 or
5 feet above the ground. Canes are tied to the stake at a point
about midway between the ground and the tips of the canes, and
again near the top of the stake.

Canes of bramble fruits are biennial in nature; the
crowns are perennial. New shoots grow from buds at the crown each
year. Late in the summer, the new canes develop lateral branches
with fruit buds on them. Early in the second season, fruit-bearing
shoots grow from these buds. After fruiting, the old canes die,
and new shoots spring up from the crowns. These fruiting canes may
be removed any time after harvest. They should be cut off close to
the base of the plant, removed from the planting, and destroyed.
Some growers, as a sanitation practice, do this immediately after
harvest. Most, however, prune during dormancy.

The dormant pruning is usually delayed until danger of
severe cold is past and accomplished before the buds begin to
swell. It consists of the removal of all dead, weak, and severely
damaged canes, and the selection and pruning of the fruiting canes
for the coming season. Where possible, fruiting canes 1/2-inch or
more in diameter are selected.

Primocane fruiting red raspberries are cut to ground
level after fruiting is completed in the fall. The row is narrowed
to 12' to 16' at this time by tilling or other similar practice.

The following comments concerning red raspberries do
not apply to the Heritage variety. Heritage and other ever-bearing
red raspberries can be moved off and sacrifice the spring crop.
The lowest will be delayed until late summer or early fall.

Red raspberries should not be summer-topped. At the
dormant pruning, where the hill system of culture is used, thin
until only seven or eight of the best canes remain per hill.

If the plants are grown in hedge rows, keep the width
of the rows to 18 inches or less, and remove all plants outside
the row areas. Thin the canes within the hedge rows to 3 to 4
canes per running foot, saving the best canes.

Pruning Raspberries

Black raspberries should be topped in the summer when
the young shoots are about 24 inches high; purple raspberries,
when about 30 inches high. Summer-topping consists of removing the
top 3 to 4 inches of the new shoots by snapping them off with the
fingers or cutting them with shears or a knife. Ideally primocanes
are tipped above a bud so little dead wood is left between the
wound and the bud. Where trained to supports, let them grow 6 to 8
inches taller before topping.

At the dormant pruning, thin each plant until only four
or five of the best canes remain. Cut the lateral branches of the
black raspberry to 9 to 12 inches long; those of the purple
raspberry to 12 to 15 inches long.

Pruning Red Raspberries

New shoots of erect blackberries should be
summer-topped when they are 30 to 36 inches high. To prevent the
planting from becoming too thick and reducing yields, it may be
necessary to remove excess sucker plants as they appear. This can
be done either with a hoe or by hand. In the hedge row type of
culture, leave only three or four shoots per running foot of row.
Grown in hills, four to five new shoots may be allowed to develop
in each hill.

At the dormant pruning, where supports are used, head
the canes to 4 to 5 feet in height. Canes grown without support
should be headed to 3 feet. Cut lateral branches back to 15 or 18
inches long.

Trailing blackberries require little pruning. All dead
and weak canes should be removed after harvest or at the dormant
pruning. They should be thinned to seven or eight of the best
canes per hill, cut to about 5 feet in length, and tied to either
a stake or trellis.

Summary

Pruning is the removal of parts of a woody plant for a specific
purpose. These purposes include: training the plant; maintaining
plant health; improving the quality of flowers, fruit, foliage, or
stems; and restricting growth.